The plight of pollination and the interface of neurobiology, ecology and food security

Abstract

Insect neurobiology and cognition are most fully understood through studies on European honeybees (Apis mellifera ssp.; Hymenoptera: Apidae). Karl von Frisch (1886-1982) became a Nobel Laureate in Medicine and Physiology (1973) for his pioneering research on honeybee behaviour, learning and social communication (von Frisch Tanzsprache und Orientierung der Bienen. Springer, Berlin,1965, The dance language and orientation of bees. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,1967). His enduring work stimulated numerous prominent scientists, including Martin Lindauer (1918-2008) who was mentor to R. M., and whose nomination provided P. K. with a DAAD fellowship to work with his team in the Institut für Neurobiologie of the Freie Universität Berlin in 1994. Honeybees are the most important managed pollinators of crop plants and responsible for estimated billions of dollars worth of food production annually. Although these insects make excellent subjects for basic research, understanding their biology often has immediate practical implications. Honeybees, and beekeeping, around the world appear to be facing serious problems to such a grave extent that the popular media are full of stories about their demise and the potential consequences to human food security. How honeybees perceive their world, especially the flowers they pollinate, and how they react to stresses in their environments (management, pathogens, parasites, pesticides, pollutants and landscape changes) are closely interlinked. Therefore, the relationships between basic and applied research become of immediate importance and may lead to a better handling of the ecological conditions under which honeybees perform their economically important contribution to the balance of nature. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.